🔗 Share this article

You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the coach anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge versus the present Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of European football for the first time. These demands are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The coach deployed an completely changed lineup, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

With important players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period ramps up.